Commission, planning board to begin meeting on Davis Straits plan

After lengthy planning and discussion, the Cape Cod Commission is ready to begin assisting the Falmouth Planning Board in putting its long-term plan for Davis Straits into action.

The Barnstable-based commission worked with the planning board to prepare a plan for revitalizing and rezoning Davis Straits. The board wants to better integrate the area with downtown Falmouth. That includes improving bicycle and pedestrian access, bringing more mixed-use housing and retail to the corridor, and reducing the amount of paved surfacing in the area by building closer to the road.

The commission's latest draft for the long-term project was completed in late 2016. Town Planner Brian Currie told the planning board December 19 that commission staff will begin meeting with the board regularly on the project early next year.

Currie said the commission has received a $100,000 grant that enables it to work further with the board in implementing the Davis Straits plan. That money will be split between servicing Falmouth and two other communities, Currie said, noting that it remains to be determined how the money will be shared among the three towns.

"They're going to pick up the ball and run with it," he said.

The board has designs on turning the area into a "multi-family" district with mixed-use buildings designed to accommodate both housing and retail. Planning Board Chairman Jim Fox suggested that future developers be required to include a minimum number of residential units in their projects, thereby ensuring the development of mixed-use buildings.

"I think if we had that, we'll have units on second floors," he said.

Board member Pamela Harting-Barrat spoke in support of the idea, noting that town officials in Martha's Vineyard just voted "the very same thing."

Paul Dreyer, the board's clerk, suggested that a sketch be prepared to put plans for Davis Straits into some perspective for residents.

"It's a huge document," Fox said of the plan.

"Well, let's define it," Dreyer said.

Others on the board said that as plans evolve, the town and commission should look at the particulars of Mashpee Commons, including the project's per-acre density and ongoing plans to bring housing to the site.

"It seems like a pretty good project up to this point," board member John Druley said.